


Harry's Chicken Soup

by UnderTheGoldenLights (Samunderthelights)



Category: One Direction (Band), Real Person Fiction
Genre: 1D Christmas Fest, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27799201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samunderthelights/pseuds/UnderTheGoldenLights
Summary: When Louis can't go home to his family for Christmas because he has the flu, he thinks Christmas is ruined. But when his new neighbour shows up at his door, it looks like Christmas might be saved after all.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 62
Collections: 1D Christmas Fest 2020





	Harry's Chicken Soup

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> Here's my second entry for the 1D Christmas Fest. For this one I used prompt #65. _Louis comes down with the flu right before Christmas, and his doctor says he’s too sick to travel for the time being. He spends Christmas Eve alone and missing his family, until his neighbor Harry stops by to drop off some cookies to everyone in the neighborhood. Harry sees that Louis is sick and lonely, and ends up coming in to spend the rest of the evening with him._  
>  Happy Holidays! 🎄  
> Xx

Louis sinks deeper into the sofa, groaning as he hears the laughter outside, the kids squealing as they’re playing and having fun in the snow. It’s not that he doesn’t like Christmas, or that he doesn’t enjoy the joy it brings to people. But this morning he was supposed to go back to the family home to spend the holidays with his family, and he had been looking forward to it for weeks, if not months.

But last week he had started to feel tired, and his body was aching as though he had been working out for hours on end. He had tried his best to ignore how weak he felt, but when the fever had set in, he knew that he couldn’t deny it any longer.

He had gone to see the doctor, hoping they could give him something to make him feel better. Maybe some painkillers, maybe a vitamin shot? But the doctor had simply sent him home, telling him that it was the flu, and he would just have to wait it out. Rest a lot and sleep it off.

Louis was still hoping he would get better before Christmas, but when he had woken up this morning, he had felt just as weak as the days before, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to travel back home to see his family.

It had broken his heart, especially when he had made the call, and he had seen the disappointed faces of his family. But they had promised they’d come see him soon, and he had faked a smile.

But not being able to go see his family had taken away any Christmas spirit he had in him, and he had spent the entire day curled up on the sofa watching Netflix.

When he hears a knock on his door, he almost considers turning off the lights and pretending he isn’t home. But he has a good relationship with his neighbours, and he knows it isn’t fair to be rude to them, especially not on Christmas Eve.

So with his blanket still wrapped around him, he goes to open his door, only to find a stranger standing there. The young man has a big, excited smile on his flushed face, and he’s wearing a terrible Christmas jumper.

“Hi, I’m Harry. I moved into number seven last week,” he explains. “I made cookies,” he says, before reaching into his bag, and getting a small box out of it.

“Thanks?” Louis says, but it comes out as a question. “I’m Louis.”

“Nice to meet you, Louis.” Harry smiles, but the smile begins to fade as he notices the blanket wrapped around his shoulders, and the feverish red colour on his face. “Are you alright?”

“It’s just the flu.” Louis shrugs. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for the ehm…”

“Wait, do you live here on your own?”

Louis tries his best to stay polite, but right now all he wants to do is close the door and get back to his warm spot on the sofa.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You look…,” Harry begins, and Louis is about to tell him that he’s perfectly fine, when a coughing fit overtakes him. “Wait, give me… thirty minutes, okay?”

“To do what?”

“I don’t like the idea of you being here on your own like this.”

“It’s the flu.”

“Exactly,” Harry says. “I’ll be right back,” he says, flashing a smile, before turning and walking off to deliver cookies to the rest of the neighbours.

Louis watches him for a moment, wondering if in his feverish delirium, he had imagined the whole thing. But then he closes the door, and he gets back to the sofa, where he curls up, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep and sleep right through the rest of Christmas.

But just as he’s dozing off, there’s another knock on the door. He doesn’t even bother to fake a smile this time, but when he finds Harry standing there, a bag full of food in his one hand, his pyjamas and a toothbrush in the other, he can’t help but laugh.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he laughs, almost resulting in him having another coughing fit. “You can’t just invite yourself over here.”

“If you want me to go, just tell me.” Harry shrugs. “But no one should be on their own on Christmas Eve.”

“How do you know I’m on my own?”

“Just a guess,” Harry says, a mischievous smile on his face. “So? May I come in?”

Louis shakes his head, smiling to himself, but he lets his neighbour in, and he leads him into the living room.

“Sorry, I haven’t really…,” Louis mumbles, now fully aware of all the candy wrappers and empty mugs next to the sofa.

“Let me take care of it.” Harry smiles. “You lie down, do whatever you were doing… wait, do you like chicken soup? I can get something else, but…”

“I don’t have chicken soup.”

“I’m making it,” Harry says, holding up the bag in his hand. “If that’s alright. Unless you were going to eat something else… I mean, I can make something else. Just tell me, and I’ll…”

“Don’t you have plans?” Louis interrupts him, as he sits down on the sofa. “I appreciate this and all, but really, I’m fine. I just need to rest.”

“No plans.” Harry shrugs, but Louis can tell that he’s lying. “I was just going to watch some tv, have some pasta…”

“Right,” Louis chuckles, “Well… thanks for ehm…”

“Is the kitchen in there?”

Louis watches as the stranger disappears into the kitchen, and he can’t help but laugh to himself. Because how the hell did he end up with this man in his home?

* * *

“I was supposed to go see my family,” Louis explains, as he and Harry are eating their soup.

Harry has joined him on the sofa, and he has stuck his feet underneath Louis’ blanket to keep them warm. Louis hadn’t been able to stop smiling at how comfortable this stranger was in his home, but also at how nice it was to have him here. To not be on his own on his birthday.

“Why couldn’t they come here?”

“I didn’t want them to get the flu,” Louis shrugs. “I don’t want you to get it either. It’ll ruin your Christmas,” he sniffles.

“Nah, I’ll be alright.” Harry smiles. “I don’t have plans for Christmas anyway.”

“So you said,” Louis says, playfully nudging his foot against Harry’s. “Why are you lying? I told you I could take care of myself, didn’t I?”

Harry’s cheeks flush pink, and Louis can’t help but smile at his reaction.

“Is this what you do? You invite yourself in, you make people soup…”

“No!” Harry chuckles embarrassedly. “I told you, I just didn’t want you to be on your own.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I do now.” Harry shrugs. “Your name is Louis, you like Netflix… chocolate… tea…”

“It’s my birthday today,” Louis blurts out, Harry staring at him with open mouth.

“Why didn’t you say so?”

“It’s just another day, isn’t it?”

“And you were going to sit here, stuffing your face with cheap chocolate, watching some show about… what were you watching anyway?”

“Just some documentaries,” Louis chuckles. “Really, it’s…,” he tries, but when Harry takes his phone out of his pocket, he keeps quiet.

It takes a moment, but then a woman appears on the screen, a big smile on her face when she sees Harry.

“Hiya, love! How’s it going?”

“Hey mum!” Harry smiles. “This is Louis, it’s his birthday!”

Harry hands Louis the phone, and Louis takes it, unable to hide the uncomfortable look on his face. Because what the hell is he supposed to do with this, and what is he supposed to say to this stranger’s mother?

“Happy birthday, love!” The woman smiles. “I take it you are… Harry, is this the boy you told me about?”

Louis doesn’t fail to notice the blush on his neighbour’s face, as he hands him back the phone.

“Yeah, it is.” Harry grins sheepishly.

“You should have told me it was his birthday, we would have gotten him something! I’m sorry, Louis, Harry is…”

“Mum!” Harry quickly says. “It’s not… we’re not…”

“Oh… well…,” Harry’s mother says, quickly faking a smile when Harry holds up the phone to Louis again. “Happy birthday, and Merry Christmas!”

“You too.” Louis smiles, starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Because Harry told his mother about him? When? They only just met, didn’t they? Should he be worried about who he has let into his home?

“Sorry about my mum,” Harry chuckles uncomfortably when he puts the phone back into his pocket. “I ehm… I saw you when I was moving in, and I told her.”

“Right…”

“That I was kind-of-hoping-I-would-get-a-chance-to-get-to-know-you,” he mumbles, an embarrassed look on his face. “I kind of thought you were… you know…”

“I really don’t,” Louis laughs nervously, “Is that why you brought me those cookies?”

“Oh, no! I made those for everyone. But yeah…”

Harry shrugs, staring down at his feet, before looking up, a sheepish grin on his face.

“Surprise!?”

“You could have just come over to talk to me, you didn’t have to do all this,” Louis laughs. “Coming here, making me dinner… were you supposed to be with your family tonight?”

“I was,” Harry admits. “But you saw my mum, she doesn’t mind.”

“I do,” Louis laughs, playfully kicking his feet. “You’re going to get the flu, when you could have just…”

“Asked you out?” Harry suggests. “I didn’t think you were going to say yes.”

“So you were going to move yourself into my home instead?” Louis teases, but when he starts coughing, the smile quickly leaves his face. He struggles to breathe, and quickly the tears begin to stream down his face.

Harry gently caresses his back, and although it’s doing nothing to stop the coughing, it’s comforting, and by the time Louis can breathe again, all he wants to do is give his neighbour a hug to say thank you. Even if the way he had gone about all this was more than just a little silly.

“Are you alright? Do you want some water?” Harry asks, his hand gently sliding up to Louis’ neck. “Or a cup of tea?”

“I just want to sleep,” Louis mumbles, his body exhausted after a full week of this.

Harry gets up, and when Louis gets comfortable on the sofa, he makes sure the blanket is covering him, before settling in on the chair.

“You can go home, Harry.”

“I want to stay.”

* * *

Louis isn’t sure what time it is when he wakes up, but it’s still dark outside, and there’s not a sound to be heard. He sits up, trying to be as quiet as possible, trying not to wake Harry up. But Harry, who is now in his pyjamas, opens his eyes, and he flashes a smile.

“Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas,” Louis chuckles sleepily. “How did you… what time is it?”

Harry checks his phone, trying to hold in a yawn.

“Three… fifteen.”

“You really should go home,” Louis says, but Harry just shrugs, before stretching out. “You can’t sleep in that chair. It’ll ruin your back.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Louis raises an eyebrow, and when Harry realises how it sounded, he flashes a smile.

“You know what I mean. Why don’t you go to bed, and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Louis gets up, but his legs almost give out, so Harry quickly jumps up, and he puts an arm around his waist, before helping him up to his room and into bed.

“I’ll be downstairs. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Harry?” Louis asks, when his neighbour is about to leave the room. “Why don’t you stay here? There’s no need for you to ruin your back.”

“But you don’t mind giving me the flu?” Harry teases, but he already comes over to the bed, and he climbs in with Louis. “I’m sorry your Christmas was ruined.”

“I thought it was,” Louis says, a small smile forming on his lips. “But it’s actually been alright so far.”

“Yeah?”

“It got better when you showed up,” Louis tries to whisper, but he starts coughing again, and it definitely ruins whatever he was trying to go for.

“Would you have said yes? If I had asked you out?” Harry whispers, for the first time since they had met that afternoon looking nervous, and not at all confident.

“Have you seen yourself?” Louis laughs, but then he nods. “I’m sorry you met me while I’m… well, like this,” he chuckles uncomfortably, fully aware of his unwashed hair, his stained pyjamas, his snotty nose.

“Don’t worry, you’re still cute,” Harry teases, making Louis blush. “I know we’ve only just met, and we haven’t even gone out yet… and I know you’re not feeling great, but…,” he rambles, until Louis gently puts a hand on his arm.

“What?” he laughs. “You know you’re already in my bed, right?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“You’ll get the flu.”

“I don’t mind,” Harry whispers, flashing a nervous smile.

Louis leans in, and he presses a quick kiss to his lips, half-expecting that to be it. But Harry puts a hand on the back of his neck, and he deepens the kiss until they both have to come up for air.

“Well, shit,” Louis laughs, when he sees the blush on the other man’s face.

“Do you still want to go out with me?”

“After that?” Louis chuckles. “Definitely. But let’s try and make it through Christmas first.”

“Oh, I think we’ll be alright,” Harry says, a smile growing on his face. “Merry Christmas, Louis.”

“Merry Christmas, Harry.”

**Author's Note:**

> http://samunderthelights.tumblr.com/
> 
> **To read the other fabulous fics in the fest, please[click here!](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/1dchristmasfest2020)**


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